Author Archives: simonnash2

Maschinenbau // Engineering

Maschinenbau // Engineering

How to solve the engineering crisis

Engineering is critical to the UK economy. In fact, it is responsible for a fifth of the UK’s total gross value added – £280bn. However, there is a skills shortage in the industry at present, which is a huge concern. It is predicted that by 2022, Britain is going to need at least 182,000 people with engineering skills every year. Plugging this gap is essential if the engineering sector and consequently the economy are going to thrive.

Key statistics

• 40 per cent of engineers feel advertised roles reinforce gender stereotypes.
• Three in five 16 to 18-year-olds believe engineering is perceived as a career for men.
• 74 per cent of recruiters believe engineering is perceived as a career for men.
• 76% of engineers said they would recommend an engineering career path to school leavers.
• 74% of recruiters believe it is tough to locate candidates that have the right skill level.
• 69 per cent of recruiters find it tough to source engineering candidates with the right amount of work experience.
Shaking outdated stereotypes
One of the most important things to do to tackle the engineering crisis is shake outdated stereotypes. Many people see the engineering sector as a ‘masculine’ one, which discourages females from considering a role in this industry. However, there is a huge range of careers available in engineering, making it accessible to everyone. It is important that we get this message across so that we can appeal to a greater number of people.
Re-skilling
One way to answer the current shortage of engineering talent is through re-skilling, especially as almost three in ten recruiters think that re-skilling for engineering jobs isn’t difficult. This isn’t a belief that is based on mere speculation. You can look at the statistics to see the value in this opinion; a fifth of current candidates have reskilled from other jobs into their current roles.
Recruitment approach
Another change that needs to be made is in regards to recruitment. Most employers believe that engineers pick this career path because of pay and interesting work. While the latter is correct, pay isn’t the most important factor for aspiring engineers. In fact, the following are deemed more appealing than pay by most: variety of work, job security, professional qualification, and progression prospects. People seem to be more interested in having a rewarding, enjoyable and creative career, as opposed to money being the main motivator. It is, therefore, vital that job descriptions reflect this. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in this regard; making job descriptions more interesting so they work in a more targeted way.
Appealing to young talent
Last but not least, there needs to be a dedicated effort towards appealing to young talent. There is a huge problem in the industry in regards to the lack of young British engineering talent. It is clear that more needs to be done to encourage school leavers to study engineering. Also, there seems to be a mismatch in regards to the skills engineering candidates require in the job market and what the education system in the UK has been delivering. There is a very strong argument that engineering should be promoted as a career from a younger age; in secondary or even primary school, instead of sixth form.

All in all, it is clear to see that there is a problem that needs to be fixed when it comes to the engineering skills shortage in the UK. There are a number of approaches we need to use to combat this, including changing the way we compile job advertisements, appealing to young talent, re-skilling, and shaking outdated stereotypes.

If you are a client struggling to find talented engineers, please get in touch with one of our highly experienced consultants on 0121 7914 8181

2017-05-18_13-21-41

Why SAP Hybris Billing is the desired enterprise billing system for the digital age…

SAP Hybris Billing, which was recently renamed from SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM), is a SAP cloud product that provides agility and increases transparency across the revenue management process from customer engagement to revenue recognition.

The feedback from SAP clients and Hybris contractors alike has been positive, SAP Hybris Billing is clearly a critical piece in the digital transition, it provides an end-to-end solution and complete coverage of the offer-to-cash process for new digital business models that can be fully integrated across all aspects of billing, including dual or multi-sided revenue streams.

The tool sets at the heart of SAP Hybris Billing: AP Billing & Revenue Innovation Management tools, enabling build subscription and usage based pricing models. SAP Hybris also assist businesses across the billing process by providing multi-party settlements and pricing abstraction capabilities as well as close integration with SAP financial and analytics product lines.

Of course, there are other cloud based billing systems, however with SAP Hybris companies can offer diverse payment methods from credit cards to prepaid, postpaid and hybrid payments all while running a lights-out revenue management chain, if companies fully utilize the offering – SAP Convergent Charging (SAP CC) and SAP Convergent Invoicing (SAP CI) will empower marketing and sales to craft pricing models that reward loyalty, offer partners flexible terms and ensure accurate settlement.

What are your thoughts on SAP Hybris?

Does SAP Hybris offer:

High-end Enterprise Functionality?

Compatible with Legacy Systems?

Seamless CRM Integration (legacy / SAP)?

Usable: Speed to Deploy / Time to Value?

Competitive Cost: Deployment and Ongoing Maintenance?

Orchestration of your Business?

A Single Unified System?

Aspect Resources is supporting a number of cloud based Hybris projects, to that end, we would value your input, or simply get in touch to find out more about our current SAP Hybris projects.

Leigh-jay@aspectresources.co.uk

2017-05-17_17-48-24

When the demand for IT talent exceeds supply…

Over the years, I have seen many different recruitment strategies, global trends, industry transformations, marketing messages, technologies, training and company initiatives… this is however, the first time in 18 years that I have seen the demand for IT talent exceed supply!

What is causing this? Several factors have come together to create the perfect “talent storm”, fewer IT graduates are coming through the system, the migration of IT skills/talent to other continents, technology innovation, a slow but steady change from Permanent employees to Freelance/Project work and an ageing workforce.

Globally, the working-age is on the decline, while the number of retirees is on the rise.

There are no real barriers, end clients, MSP`s, Vendors, Consultancies and recruiters alike are going to have to adapt & collaborate, open closed candidate pools and leverage Big Data to future proof and improve our industry. The days of simply hiring one person from an established PSL are over, solitary pools of candidates produce inconsistent results, a fruitful PSL today – may yield limited fruit tomorrow.

The global demand for IT talent and services is greater than local supply, 35 million people are currently seeking a new position in IT, whilst 58% of IT companies around the world report having difficulty filling their assignments, more than 8 in 10 (83 percent) executives say talent acquisition is important or very important (source: Deloitte – Human Capital Trends 2017).

The days of fulfilling the demand for talent without shaping it have passed.

The distance between available talent and needed skills, is becoming more than a gap, it’s closer to The Grand Canyon and it’s only going to get worse. Technology is intensifying the gap, helping to move supply and demand in opposite directions, creating asymmetric markets.

Even multinationals, companies that once relied heavily on expanding or contracting workforces to meet demand, now need to build a sustainable & competitive workforce, a workforce built from multiple sources globally, end to end recruitment by professional’s with up to date talent strategies.

With the onset of digital marketing, disruptive technological innovations, global efficiencies in migration, big data and social media, large talent pools have fractured into thousands of micro-networks, spread out globally across agencies, consultancies, local/international groups and hidden on internal databases. We do not live in a market of one, it is increasingly rare that talent lives and works in the same place. Technology allows talent to move more freely than before, from role to role, across organizational and geographical boundaries (source: TalentTechLabs).

The talent supply chain is global, demand is local and talent pools are confined.

There is an imbalance across the talent supply chain, imbalance should create pressure for innovation, change, supplier diversity and collaboration. Instead the net result is a potential explosion in the number of small to mid-size agencies, driving down margins & quality, tapping into a fractured globalised and un-coordinated search for talent!

Who wants to be a low-cost leader? Technology supports growth, innovation and as previously mentioned facilitates start-ups, but at what cost? We have an obligation to provide value that goes beyond a low-cost service offering, reduced margins and quick wins, we need to start raising human ability and connecting the talent supply chain, defining talent sourcing values and embrace old & new talent acquisition rules (source:Aberdeen Essentials – attracting the best).

A job is what a person does, not what a person provides in terms of skills and experiences, talent.

Developing an effective talent acquisition strategy isn’t easy, it’s a process that takes time and expertise as it relates to industry trends and talent dynamics (internally & externally), however only 15 percent of global business leaders surveyed this year believe their companies do an excellent job cultivating and monitoring long-term relationships with potential future talent (source: Deloitte).

The disruption of the talent supply chain is only just beginning, companies need to not only select a talent acquisition strategy (PSL`s, recruiters, direct sourcing, MSP`s, Partners, Consultancies / SI`s etc.), but also develop an understanding of current talent migration trends, disruptive technologies/strategies, an ageing workforce and fractured global talent networks.

Collectively, we need to stop cultivating islands of talent in a sea of demand and collaborate.

I might be able to help you (end clients, agencies, MSP`s, vendors or consultancies) review, recognise and value your current and/or future IT talent, ever-changing technology and globalised talent pools demand a more comprehensive, passionate & forward thinking approach.

Get in touch, email me on: leigh-jay@aspectresources.co.uk